Ludwig van Beethoven

“In Steinberg's Gloria, the choir's accent on 'hominibus' is just right: quiet, not overdone...Steinberg hammers out 'consubstantialem Patri' in fine style...Peter Meven intones the the opening to the Agnus Dei with gravitas.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2012

“Steinberg impresses by keeping a firm hand on the tiller. Almost without exception I thought his tempi were judiciously chosen...Beethoven makes the most unreasonable demands on the chorus, the sopranos especially, yet the German singers never flinch and I admired the tenors who produce strong, incisive singing yet never force the tone” MusicWeb International, July 2012

“This thoughtful performance has much to recommend it. In the dominating slow movement the players risk a slower tempo than any other ensemble known to me … and this is symptomatic of the committed intensity with which they play this extraordinary music.” Gramophone Magazine (Op. 132)

“I much like the ardour and intelligence that the Fitzwilliam bring to all they do. […] this ensemble can hold their own alongside most competition, for they are without question one of the finest ensembles this country has produced in recent years. Impressive too, is the Decca recording, which is as well balanced as any of the current rivals. I was struck right from the very opening by their unerringly right choice of tempos [in Op. 130]. […] This is indeed a thoughtful reading, obviously the product of much care and feeling. […]Their account of the Grosse Fuge, is powerful and muscular … There is a marvellously combative feeling here.” Gramophone Magazine (Op. 130, Grosse Fuge)

“it goes without saying that admirers of this much-loved ensemble will not want to be without this disc … the opening of Op. 74 is beautifully played … They bring no lack of intensity to this great music which they have served so well in the concert hall over the past four decades … The Decca recording is admirably clean and present.” Gramophone Magazine

“Biss's linear contouring and razor-sharp touch in the Scherzo leave [Paul] Lewis's dainty deliberation at the starting-gate...Audiences seem to inspire more dangerous and no less technically assured Beethoven-playing from Biss; perhaps a live concert would be a better context for Onyx to continue cultivating their Biss/Beethoven merger.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012

“There's a wonderfully unforced quality to Biss's playing that's as effective in Beethoven as it was in the outstanding Schumann disc with which he really made his name four years ago. The way in which he eases into the opening movement of the A flat Funeral March Sonata Op 26, or perfectly weights the climaxes in Op 81a, Les Adieux, are marks of an outstanding pianist; for those who stay the course, this could be a Beethoven cycle to treasure.” The Guardian, 22nd December 2011 *****

“Biss takes a middle-of-the-road view – no overly prim classicism, no romantic waywardness. He handles the slow music of Sonatas 5 and 26 thoughtfully, and the latter’s lively finale is suitably inspiring.” Financial Times, 7th January 2012 ***

“Biss turned 30 two years ago, and he’s anything but youthfully rash in his approach. His concern is with the range and sheer fecundity of Beethoven’s invention...Tonally, the playing is finely controlled, with a balance that’s rich in the bass and smooth in the treble, and the recording is well-focused, without clouding effects from any overhang of reverberation. What’s not to like?” Irish Times, 20th January 2012

“[Biss] has all the ingredients he needs to become one of today's great Beethovenians. This disc proves he's well on the way. He teases out the brilliant and quirky heart of the sonatas; he is affectionate in the reflective slow movements, and witty and light-fingered in the virtuoso sky-rockets. He takes nothing for granted: in his hands Beethoven is no pompous grand master but an energetic radical, bursting at the seams with fresh ideas.”” Classic FM Magazine, February 2012 ****

“The performances — brilliant, precisely thought, yet spontaneous-sounding — are a joy. I also like the way Biss has chosen to begin with four of the least often heard sonatas, then shows how wrong we are not to celebrate them, for in his hands they are a continual surprise and delight.” Sunday Times, 29th January 2012

“this is a marvellously promising beginning by one of the most thoughtful and technically accomplished pianists of the younger generation...his playing is by no means didactic: it is forceful, fierce but not exaggerated, and sometimes scintillating...I look forward to the next instalment” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 *****

“The playing itself is dazzling, combining expressive warmth and admirable clarity: I don't think I've ever heard the presto finale of the first Trio dashed off with quite such transparency and lightness of touch...All in all, this recording is a real treat.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2012 *****

“played with fire and subtlety by the outstanding Trio Zimmermann” Sunday Times, 15th January 2012

“These musicians are in command of the meticulously written extremes in expression, sforzandos not indiscriminately stabbed at but gauged according to the contexts in which they appear. Tempi are gauged to a nicety too...In sum, they do Beethoven proud throughout this exceptionally fine disc, enhanced by BIS's clean SACD sound.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“From the expressive phrasing of the slow introduction of Op. 9 No. 1 it's clear that the playing not only has unusual commitment but real imagination too. What's more, the richness of the sound generated by these three players is ideal: never too full but always warm and wonderfully balanced. Speeds, too, are beautifully judged...for anyone looking for these works now, I'd say that this new BIS disc...sits at the top of a distinguished list.” International Record Review, February 2012

“Displaying impeccable teamwork the players give these splendid Beethoven scores with a spring in the step and a sparkle in the eye yet they also draw deep to achieve a remarkable gravitas to set alongside an abundance of spirit in these assured and tasteful performances. This marvellous BIS disc was a delight from start to finish” MusicWeb International, March 2012

“Anyone who grew up with Herbert von Karajan, Karl Böhm or Eugen Jochum's recordings will feel at home in the musical world Thielemann creates...The Third, the Eroica, may be all bulging muscle and portentous climaxes, but it has a sense of purpose and dynamism that make it the most successful performance of the nine, just as the scale and scope of the Ninth is never in doubt.” The Guardian, 19th January 2012 ***

“Thielemann’s approach is defiantly old-school – tempi are expansive and disarmingly flexible, orchestral sonorities are huge, rich and fruity. Once your ears have adjusted, there’s an awful lot of music-making here which sounds undeniably magnificent. The brassy opening of the Fifth Symphony’s finale suggests that we’re entering Valhalla.” The Arts Desk, 3rd March 2012

“Thielemann is a musician who is not only conservative but thought-prokovingly original - and his performances will appeal to listeners who long for a return to interpretative values that are closer to the very individual Beethoven of Furtwangler or Mengelberg.” International Record Review, May 2012

“one of the most joyous, released and sheerly infectious accounts I have ever heard [of the Second], full of drive, impish wit and manic ecstasy. The orchestra is obviously having a high old time...Thielemann takes the orchestra’s famed sonority and builds on it. These are performances all of a piece; Thielemann has imposed his conception upon the cycle as a whole and the emphasis upon weight and grandeur without excluding excitement.” MusicWeb International, May 2012